At least as early as 1966 it was known to draw together the edges of panels of an office panel system by using cooperating wedge-shaped keeper buttons and pear-shaped slots, the slots being in a vertical element that was moved vertically by means of a screw (Propst U.S. Pat. No. 3,425,171). Seventeen years later, the present inventor made major improvements over the above-indicated office panel system, but still used a vertically-movable element and cooperating teardrop-shaped openings and chamfered screw heads. The teardrop openings were in the vertical element, which was actuated by means of a bolt.
In both of the indicated office panel systems, the threaded fastener had to be turned by means of a tool. Furthermore, the bolt or screw head was either exposed to view or had to be separately concealed. In addition, to disconnect the panels from each other, in order to arrange them in a different configuration, it was sometimes necessary to hammer on the fastener after it had been rotated through a substantial number of revolutions.
The above office panel systems were also characterized by a certain difficulty in initiating the connection operation, that is to say difficulty in causing the screw heads to enter the wide ends of the slots in the vertically-movable member.